Topological duality for distributive Ockham algebras

In this note, we give a representation of distributive Ockham algebras via natural hom-functors. In order to do this, we describe two different structures (one algebraic, and the other order-topological) on the set of subsets of the natural numbers. The topological duality previously obtained by A. Urquhart is used throughout.     

Intuitive inventory management: An experimental system

The way people intuitively manage inventories is both an important issue in its own right and a context for research on various basic theoretical questions. The subject has not yet been systematically studied, owing partially to the lack of appropriate research tools. This paper presents some of the key concepts in formal inventory theory and describes an experimental system for the study of intuitive inventory management. This system is a computer program that allows subjects to interact with a simulated inventory system. Numerous system parameters can be manipulated, including demand functions, prices, costs, and the display of data. The usefulness of the system is demonstrated via the study of the effects of three parameters on intuitive inventory management in an illustrative experiment. Possible future uses of the system in basic and applied research and in training are indicated.     

Touched by Grace during the psychoanalytic hour: the transformation of a religious resistance

Case material is presented illustrating a phase in religious transformation in which the quality of the religious moment -first expressed in transference hints and a dream, and finally augmented by an idiosyncratic enactment of the patient's-became sufficiently intense that it crossed formal religious boundaries. The patient resisted direct reference to her religious beliefs, yet the deeper roots of her God representations took alternative forms of expression. The analyst's appreciation of this, which was rendered articulable through a carefully refined countertransference experience, eventually enabled a sincere experience of joining, one that superseded apparent religious differences between analyst and patient.     

Adult age differences in memory for name-face associations: The effects of intentional and incidental learning

Previous studies have indicated that older adults have a special deficit in the encoding and retrieval of associations. The current study assessed this deficit using ecologically valid name-face pairs. In two experiments, younger and older participants learned a series of name-face pairs under intentional and incidental learning instructions, respectively, and were then tested for their recognition of the faces, the names, and the associations between the names and faces. Under incidental encoding conditions older adults' performance was uniformly lower than younger adults in all three tests, indicating age-related impairments in episodic memory representations. An age-related deficit specific to associations was found under intentional but not under incidental learning conditions, highlighting the importance of strategic associative processes and their decline in older adults. Separate analyses of hits and false alarms indicate that older adults' associative deficit originated from high false alarm rates in the associative test. Older adults' high false alarm rates potentially reflect their reduced ability to recollect the study-phase name-face pairs in the presence of intact familiarity with individual names and faces.     

Anxiety and coping with community disasters: The Israeli experience

This study compared anxiety levels and coping strategies in Israeli adults during the Al-Aqsa Intifada (n = 707) and under ballistic missile attacks targeted at Israeli civilians during the Persian Gulf War (n = 328). In view of the differences among the two disaster situations in terms of severity of impact, scope, duration, predictability, and controllability, it was hypothesized that higher levels of state anxiety would be observed for the terror attack than for the missile attack crisis. Furthermore, problem-focused coping was predicted to be more salient than emotion-focused coping during the Gulf War—at a time where more protective action could be taken. Overall, the data supported the hypotheses. The data are discussed and explicated in the context of stress and coping theory and research.     

Hebrew Sources on the Baal Shem Tov: Usability vs. Reliability

This article begins by arguing that there is no such thing as a typical or unbiased historical source. Every source genre and each source has limitations and strengths. For any given source these characteristics can change depending on the purpose the source is used for. In approaching any source the historian should ask how, given its nature, the source can appropriately be used. The criterion for evaluating sources should be usability rather than reliability. The author then goes on to discuss the usability of three key sources associated with the biography of the putative founder of Hasidism, Israel Baal Shem Tov: The Holy Epistle, his sayings as quoted in the books of Yaakov Yosef of Polonnoye [Po?onne], and the stories in Shivhei habesht. While pointing out some ways in which he understands these sources to have been used inappropriately, the author concludes that all three sources do indeed have historiographical uses. These depend on a critical understanding of their genres, of how and why these sources came to be written, and of the history of each text.     

Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed and the Kabbalah

Medieval Jewish mysticism was a multiform project in which Maimonides played different roles, for different mystical streams, and at different times. Maimonides' impact on Kabbalah was such that understanding the histories of both medieval Jewish philosophy and mysticism requires a more integrative approach than is usually adopted. The investigation into the activities of Abraham Abulafia as Maimonidean commentator and publicist undertaken here illustrates this point.     

The unanticipated resilience of trait self-knowledge in the face of neural damage

This paper explores the question of what the self is by reviewing research conducted with both normal and neuropsychological participants. Findings converge on the idea that the self may be more complex and differentiated than some previous treatments of the topic have suggested. Although some aspects of self-knowledge such as episodic recollection may be compromised in individuals, other aspects-for instance, semantic trait summaries-appear largely intact. Taken together, these findings support the idea that the self is not a single, unified entity. Rather, it is a set of interrelated, functionally independent systems. In the process of reviewing neuropsychological findings, an unexpected result emerges: trait self-knowledge appears unusually robust with respect to neural and cognitive damage that render other aspects of self-knowledge dysfunctional in varying degrees.